


Out of the Dark, Into the Light

by Maya_Koppori



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Abduction, F/M, Gen, Kidnapping, adrien doesn't know whether to sing or faint, ladrien, poor kid can't catch a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 18:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5880826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maya_Koppori/pseuds/Maya_Koppori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien finds himself in a strange situation, and his kwami is nowhere to be found. Can he get out on his own, or will he have to wait on help from the love of his life?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of the Dark, Into the Light

For the first time since he'd met Plagg, Adrien was scared of the dark. 

He decided he could cut himself a break on that for now though. After all, he had been abducted. 

It was bad enough that he had no use of his hands. He flexed experimentally to no avail. They remained bound behind his back, the insides of his wrists scraping against rough stone while the rope dug in tighter. His feet were in a similar state, shoeless and going numb from lack of circulation. 

It was even worse that he couldn't hear anything around him. There was nothing even his miraculously enhanced hearing could detect to give away where he was. Not a voice, not a passing vehicle, not a chirp. Even when he shifted on the ground the only sound to be heard was that generic scrape of denim on stone. 

All of that would have been bad enough on its own. But Adrien used every language he knew to curse the fact that he was also in complete and utter darkness. Some sort of cloth sack covered his head and cinched closed at his neck, and no matter how much he wiggled and shimmied he couldn't get it loose. 

“Plagg! Come on buddy, claws out!” Adrien said into the stillness. Nothing happened. “Plagg?” He whispered once again, his voice deafening in the enclosed space. No answer came from his kwami, and Adrien had to bite down on the instinct to panic. He'd thought he was over this. This childish fear of what he couldn't see. Chat Noir’s night vision should have been enough to dash any lingering hesitations about the dark shadows of the night, but apparently it had only placated his phobia. Now it was back in full force, burnished by his sudden helplessness. 

“You're still Chat Noir,” Adrien told himself. “You're a superhero. You'll find a way out of this.”

That is, if he could figure out what  _ this _ was. 

He ran over the list he'd been making in his head since he woke up- was that an hour ago? Or only ten minutes? Adrien’s head was too foggy to keep track of time. The last thing he remembered was calling off his driver. He had opted to walk to the photo shoot from school that day; it wasn't far, and he'd needed the fresh air. At least, that's what he'd said to the burly gorilla-like man in the driver’s seat before he grunted and drove away. 

But yes, his list. Adrien breathed in and slowly exhaled in order to focus. There were three main possibilities humming like jackhammers in his skull. The first was that an akuma had decided to take him, either alone or along with other civilians. It would explain his memory loss and the overall strangeness of the situation. But if that were the case, there ought to be others. So he discounted that theory. The second was that he had been abducted by a groupie. He'd had nightmares about that before, most of them starring Chloe. But they usually involved less darkness and more selfies, so he put that one in the ‘maybe’ column. 

The idea that seemed more and more plausible by the minute was that he'd been found out. That Hawkmoth had somehow discovered his secret identity and decided to take advantage of it to steal his Miraculous while he was vulnerable and take him out of the picture. Plagg’s continued absence supported this idea, as did the brutal circumstances he found himself in. 

Adrien’s heart pounded. If that was the case. he wasn't the only one in danger. Had Hawkmoth found Ladybug as well? Was she somewhere out there too, maybe even close by, alone in the dark without her kwami or her partner? Or Hawkmoth could be out there right now, tracking her down. The thought alone made him want to gag. He had to get himself loose and find out!

Panting with exertion, Adrien coiled himself up into a sitting position. His abdomen ached from discomfort, but he forced his legs around and under his body. He clenched his teeth, praying that he still had even an ounce of Chat Noir’s balance still in him, and rocked forward while he pushed with his feet. To his relief, he managed to land upright. 

Okay. Now what?

“I really need to think these things through better,” Adrien muttered to himself. But he was on his feet. Maybe there was something on this level that could get the stupid hood off of him. 

After a few minutes of hop-stepping around )and several close scares when he nearly toppled over) Adrien determined that he was in a small, empty, rectangular room. Either there were no windows in this room or it was nighttime, because no matter what way he turned, no light penetrated the fabric over his eyes. He decided to follow the wall around the room, stumbling in the corners, until he found it- the single door. 

“Yes!” Adrien turned his back to the door and fumbled over the handle with his hands. With any luck, whoever had put him here would have counted on his hands and feet being tied and left the door-!

Locked. Of course. Adrien groaned and let his head fall back against the door. Had he really thought his luck would turn in a situation like this? But he grappled with the handle anyway, feeling it out. The handle was long and slim. If he was careful, he might be able to slip off this stupid hood. 

Silently thanking the leg strength he had built up from fencing as well as being Chat Noir, he slowly bent his knees and lowered his neck to the cold handle. Bracing his back to the door, he carefully rubbed his neck along the handle until it slipped under the hood. Slowly, he sank down further. The drawstring came loose, and the bag came fluttering off. 

Adrien gasped, drinking in the first relatively breath of fresh air he'd had in what seemed like ages. The room remained obstinately black, but at least he didn't have to breathe his own air anymore. That was progress. 

After some more examination, Adrien realized he was stuck. There was no gap under the door and still no light. His vision never improved, but as the minutes passed he began to hear things. Shouts, mostly, and running feet. Muffled, far off thumps. It was all happening above his head. Was he in a basement room? 

Eventually, one of the voices came into focus, frantic, female- familiar. Adrien had to sit back down on the floor from shock. He knew that voice. But not once had he ever heard it like this. Not  _ calling his name.  _

“Adrien!” 

“Ladybug?” Adrien shouted back, bewildered. He heard a pause in the shouting, and then it increased again. And it was moving towards him. 

“Adrien,” she called again, closer. No longer above him, she was very close to the door. 

“I'm here,” he answered. “What’s going on? How did you-”

“No time, we don't have long before security starts regrouping.” Ladybug cut him off and rattled the door handle. “Drat. Hold on, I'm coming in!”

It was pure instinct that had him rolling away from the door at the time he did, but he was grateful for it nonetheless. If he hadn't, Ladybug would have kicked in his face as well as the door. 

For a moment she stood there, blinking, trying to adjust to the dark of the little room, while Adrien had to blink tears out of his eyes. There was no way a simple light bulb could be that bright. That brightness had to be coming from her somehow. Either way, all he knew was that he had never been so happy to see the light. 

Her eyes, deep and searching, fell on his prone form and widened. She crossed the room and knelt next to him, slowly reaching out. “Can I untie you?” she asked, watching him with an intensity he was unused to. He realized with a jolt that she was trying not to scare him, and he had to stifle a very Chat-like chuckle. 

“If it isn't any trouble,” he couldn't resist saying with a smile. He sat up and turned his back to her, unknowingly missing a furious blush smatter across her cheeks. 

“Well you're obviously not dying or anything,” she mumbled as she made quick work of the knots on his wrists. He turned around with a grateful smile. To his confusion, she kept her hands on his instead of moving to untie his feet. At his questioning glance, she answered. “Circulation. Your hands might be numb now but they're going to feel like they're on fire in a few seconds.”

“How do you-? Aaaahhhh!” Adrien cut himself off with a pained gasp. He squeezed her hands reflexively, trying to work blood back into them. He'd had numb hands and feet before, but never like this. This felt like he'd stuck both hands wrist deep into shards of glass. 

“I've had to save quite a few people,” Ladybug said with a smile that somehow seemed sad to him. She was unfazed by the death grip he had on her fingers, taking the pressure and offering even more. “You pick up on a few things.”

“I see,” he said, and he meant it. Although usually when he pulled people out of harm’s way, there wasn't time to go over any sort of cool down procedure. Not like now. Adrien’s muscles relaxed as the warmth flowed through his fingers once again. “I think my hands are okay now,” he said quietly. 

Ladybug blinked again, then dropped his hand like it had bitten her. “S-Sorry!” she stammered, scooting several feet away. 

Adrien’s jaw nearly dropped, and only a lifetime of schooling his features kept him from outright ogling. Ladybug never got flustered like this.  _ Never _ . Just what kind of mixed up, criss-crossed day was this?

“You're fine,” he said. He reached for his ankles and started on the knots there so he could avoid her startled gaze and let the both of them compose themselves. “So who got the freaky akuma powers this time, and what do I have to do with any of it?”

Snapping out of her daze, Ladybug’s hands joined his in working the rope off of his socked feet. Her movements were precise and efficient, but Adrien sensed a tenseness behind them that wasn't only from haste. “There was no akuma this time,” she muttered. “The only monsters were regular people who thought it was okay to do this to you.” She lifted her gaze to his raw wrists and disheveled appearance, cold fire blazing in her eyes. 

Suddenly self conscious, Adrien ran a hand through his bangs. He was a mess, he knew. His hair was a rat’s nest and his clothes covered in dirt. He didn't even have any shoes on. He should feel embarrassed, appearing like this in front of the girl he loved, but that was all eclipsed by the outright fury he saw in her eyes. That was for  _ him _ ? Their eyes locked for a few moments, Ladybug’s hard and steely while Adrien’s struggled to make sense of it all. But soon enough, the shouts and the footsteps returned. 

Ladybug snapped to attention and cursed softly. “We took too long. Come on, we need to get you out of here.” She grabbed his arm and yanked him up, but the moment Adrien’s legs tried to support his weight they buckled. 

He slumped against Ladybug, clinging to her shoulders in panic. “S-Sorry,” he managed to gasp through clenched teeth. “My feet- the rope-”

“I understand.” Ladybug steadied him with a reassuring smile. She transferred his arm to her shoulder and crouched. “Can you climb on?”

Adrien gaped. “Hey now, that's not- I'm way too heavy, you can't-”

“Hmm, I guess you’re right. You’re too tall, in any case.” Ladybug shrugged. Instead, she swept one arm behind his legs. Ignoring his undignified squeak, she picked him up bridal style and started running through the dim hallways. 

“Oh God, tell me this isn't happening,” Adrien muttered. He didn't know whether to faint from joy or embarrassment. 

“What?”

“Where are we?” he said a bit louder, turning his face to hide its flaming color. “I don't recognize this place.”

For some reason, that made Ladybug laugh. “Well, you wouldn't. You're an Agreste.”

Adrien frowned. What did that mean?

“Hold tight.” Ladybug ordered. Adrien looked up to see a door ahead, hanging open to reveal a set of stairs. Ladybug didn't slow or break her stride, carrying him up the stairs two and three at a time. When they reached the top, she had to take a sharp turn.  

Adrien saw why as he glanced over her shoulder. From the opposite direction, several men in suits chased after them. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the insignia on their lapels. It was all too familiar, and as they flew through the halls toward the front of the building he began to see it everywhere. 

“Is that-”

“Yup.” Ladybug cut him off in a breathless voice. She kept up her pace, but Adrien felt her arms beginning to shake. He’d ask her to put him down and let him run, but he still couldn’t really feel his toes. So he held on and stayed quiet so she wouldn’t have to waste her breath.

They burst through the front doors of the building just as the first patrol car came screeching around the corner. 

“It’s about time,” Ladybug grumbled. She leapt with Adrien in her arms, landing next to the car and setting him down next to a baffled police officer. “If you’ve got a medic, get him over here and have him examine Mr. Agreste for shock,” she instructed.

The officer flushed, obviously put off by being told what to do by a child. “Now see here, Ladybug. You may be a superhero, but you’re not the law and you’re not a doctor. I demand to know what’s happening here.”

“Stand down, Stevens,” a familiar voice barked. Adrien turned to find himself looking up at police chief Roger, Sabrina’s dad. The man gave Adrien a reassuring smile and winked at Ladybug. “I’ll leave it to your professional discretion, Ladybug.”

“He needs to be looked at immediately,” Ladybug repeated. “He was in a cold, damp room for hours. There’s a real possibility he could get sick, from shock if nothing else.” Worry was creeping into her voice as she spoke. Her eyes flitted more than once to Adrien’s wet socks. 

“Stevens, find Doctor Jones.”

“But sir-!”

“Now, Stevens.”

The officer finally realized that he hadn’t been asked; he’d been ordered. With a swift salute he ran into the fleet of patrol cars.

Ladybug gave Roger a grateful smile that quickly turned into a serious expression. “The rest of you should be ready. There were employees chasing us on the way out.”

Roger nodded and pulled out his radio, sending terse instructions. Officers responded and joined him in moving toward the building. Adrien watched from a distance as they surrounded his and Ladybug’s pursuers with ease. His eyes travelled up, up to the front of the office complex that he’d been trapped in. The curly S logo swirled in his vision, larger than life and impossible to ignore.

“Sobriquet?” he murmured.

Ladybug heard him and nodded, still watching the police work. “Their big fashion expose is coming up. They either wanted to keep you out of it or scare your father away. We’ll know more once the police interrogate the suspects.”

In the following silence, Adrien tried to process the information. He was still struggling to accept that this had nothing to do with Hawkmoth and his akuma. In a way it was comforting; this was just a regular old crime without magic or city wide destruction. Adrien shook his head, clearing the fog that was starting to settle once again. Did that make it any better? All that meant was that these people had tried to hurt him  _ without _ a criminal mastermind controlling them.

That was pretty sad.

He didn’t say any of that, though. Civilians weren’t supposed to know about Hawkmoth.

“It wouldn’t have scared him away,” he said instead. His voice sounded hollow. “My father is a professional. He wouldn’t worry or jeopardize his work for something so simple.”

Ladybug gasped, finally looking at him again. “But you’re his son! Of course he’s worried sick about you! He had his assistant call the police as soon as he realized you were missing.”

Adrien… Well, he wanted to believe that. He really did. But a lifetime of experience told him that there was a pretty good chance that his father didn’t even know he’d been kidnapped. It was more likely that Nathalie handled a furious phone call from the photographer when Adrien didn’t show. Once she contacted his driver and found out that he’d walked, it would have been easy enough for her to guess what happened and call the police directly.

“I’ll have to thank her. And make sure my driver doesn’t get fired.”

“Mr. Agreste!” a voice called out. The cop named Stevens had returned with a kind looking man in EMT gear. “I’d like you to come with me for a few minutes so we can get you checked out before heading to the station.”

To Adrien’s surprise, Ladybug spoke up before he could. “You can check him out right here, and his statement can wait. He’s been through enough tonight, and I’m not letting him out of my sight until he’s safely home.” She crossed her arms, emphasizing her point.

“Uh,” the EMT stammered. “This is highly unprecedented.”

“Heh.” Adrien surprised himself by giving a dry chuckle. “Half this city’s population has been put in giant green bubbles. Is anything really unprecedented anymore?”

Jones laughed in return. “I see your sense of humor is intact. Let me just…” He took out a small flashlight and stooped only slightly to shine it in Adrien’s eyes. “Your vitals look normal to me. I’d say that with some food and a good night’s rest you ought to be fine. I would ditch the socks as soon as possible, though.”

“Thank goodness,” Ladybug whispered behind him.

“Hey. Adrien, right?” Roger asked. He had returned with a chagrined look. “I just got off the phone with your father. He can’t come get you right now, he said something about a conference?”

Oh. Right. “Yeah, I remember him saying something about that earlier,” Adrien said easily. “It’s okay, I can get home…” He trailed off as the officers and Ladybug all stared at him like he’d just turned into Chat Noir in front of their very eyes.

“You are not going anywhere alone tonight,” Ladybug exclaimed, looking outraged at the very thought. “Officer, I can escort him home safely. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Roger nodded, shooting off a short salute. “Affirmative.” To Adrien he added, “Don’t worry about school tomorrow. I’ll be by with one of the other detectives to get your account of what happened.”

“I don’t remember much,” Adrien admitted. He rubbed at his forehead in annoyance and sighed. “One minute I was walking, the next I woke up in that storage room. And then Ladybug saved me. Oh, I had my school bag on me. I kind of need that back."  _Plagg's probably napping in there._

“We'll see if the Sobriquet people have it and get it back to you as soon as possible. For now, go home and spend time with your family.”

Adrien winced. “My family…”

“Okay, if that’s everything we’ll be going!” Ladybug abruptly said. She wrapped one arm around Adrien’s waist and threw her yoyo, and within seconds they were swinging through Paris.

“You know where I live?” Adrien shouted over the wind, eyes wide and face likely burning.

Ladybug fixed him with a disbelieving smirk, not missing a beat as they swung along toward the Eiffel Tower. “Do I know where Agreste Manor is? I might have seen it a few times in passing.”

That was a good point, Adrien conceded. His house was kind of enormous. It was impossible to miss from this, or any, height. 

“Okay, question two. How did you even find me?” He knew she was good, but how on earth had she made the connection quicker than the police?

Ladybug winced. “I was… Passing by the site for the shoot when the photographer had his meltdown. You have a reputation for punctuality, so I thought it was worth looking into. I saw a Sobriquet vehicle nearby and followed it.” She shrugged like it was no big deal and missed Adrien’s soft gasp. 

_ Ladybug could recognize fashion labels at a glance. Ladybug went by the park in daily life. Ladybug paid attention to Adrien Agreste.  _

This was new information, more than he'd gotten out of her as Chat Noir for months. 

The rest of their silent trip seemed to stretch out forever, but soon enough Ladybug retracted her yoyo for the last time. Switching her hold on Adrien for the descent, she landed them right inside the front gate of his house. 

Catching his breath from the thrill, Adrien snuck a sidelong glance at Ladybug. She was scanning the windows, and smiled softly when she found what she was looking for. “That light near the top- is that your dad’s office?”

Adrien followed her gaze and frowned. “Yeah. I-I thought he was stuck at the conference.”

“He must have just gotten home! Come on, you should go see him and let him know you’re alright.” Ladybug towed him forward by the arm. Excitement was clear from her posture to her voice.

Adrien somehow doubted that would go over well, but he would have to go inside eventually. He was about to submit himself to it when he spotted a black blur waving at him from over Ladybug’s shoulder. “Wait!”

Ladybug paused with one hand on the front door’s handle. “What is it, Adrien?”

_ I want to stay out here forever so I can hear you say my name like that for the rest of my life. _

**_Don't worry, bugaboo. It's just Plagg sneaking in through the door right behind you and nearly blowing my secret identity, exactly what you said NOT to do._ **

Neither Chat nor Adrien could answer honestly, so Adrien had to step forward with his usual embellishment of the truth. 

“The last time I had a friend over, he turned into the Bubbler,” he answered with a shy chuckle. “My father… I know how he seems on TV and in the magazines, but he’s not exactly a welcoming person. I’d rather spare you that.”

The eagerness in her eyes faded, and she let go of his arm. She suddenly looked embarrassed. “O-Of course. Sorry, what was I thinking? I shouldn’t just barge into your home like that.”

“That’s not what I-”

“I know.” Ladybug put her hand on his shoulder, and Adrien once again forgot how to breathe. “Go see your dad. I bet he’s more worried than you think.”

“Can I see you again?” Adrien blurted. He then proceeded to internally smack himself. Stupid, that was such a Chat thing to say! Adrien Agreste of all people didn’t spout those kind of cheesy lines with a straight face.

But Ladybug didn’t laugh at him, or pull her hand away, or any other terrible scenario he could think of in the space of three seconds. She only blinked, and blushed, and  _ smiled _ so happily that he was momentarily blinded. 

She did eventually take her hand off his shoulder, but it was a slow and reluctant motion. “You’ll see me again sooner than you think.” Ladybug reached up to pat his cheek before picking up her yoyo and winking. “See you around, hot stuff.” And she swung away, out over the wall and back into the Parisian night.

Adrien blinked. It worked? His cheesy Chat lines worked as  _ himself? _

“She called me hot stuff,” he whispered. Then he jumped in the air, pumping his fist in a victory dance and hooted, “She called me hot stuff!”

Ecstatic laughter rang out all across the city that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Adrien you lil damsel you better hope she doesn't find out your identity or she'll never let you live it down
> 
> Ladybug you nerd if y'all get to the reveal you'll know that he knows that you think he's hot


End file.
